By Li Xiaoshan
A few years ago, Zhu Wei and I had an in-depth conversation about the phenomena of ink painting, and the things behind them. We came to different conclusions, not surprisingly, for we saw it from different perspectives. A while ago, Zhu Wei brought up this matter again, which made me think a lot and dive deeper. The "fever" of ink painting has been going on for a long time, and to all appearances, it has become an unyielding trend. Almost everyone, from artists to critics, from art market to someone outside the circle, are entrapped in it, they enjoying its favor, promoting its bright future, or, following the crowd bewilderedly. In a word, the field of ink painting seems to flourish as spring were here.
However, I must emphasize that the blooming flowers in this field are just an illusion, most of which, in fact, are dazzling but lifeless plastic flowers.
In an article I wrote twenty years ago, titled “From Chinese Painting to Ink Painting”, I talked about the strategy and logic behind the naming of this art form. Indeed, Chinese painting and ink painting are like two coats of different styles, applying to the same person by different requests at different times. For ease of understanding, here I will state my conclusion first: after more than three decades, all the way from anxiety, tentativeness to stability, the field of ink painting has gradually become an obvious closed loop - compared with the traditional art, it is contemporary, and compared to the Western art, it is indigenous. In such a closed loop, everything is self-circulating, self-arguing, and self-positioning. Tom is the standard of Dick, while Dick is the standard of Harry, and so on. The vertical axis of historical context has disappeared; the horizonal axis of lateral comparison is gone. Everything is its own destiny, and therefore only necessity exists. Where are probabilities and possibilities? Where are inheritance and creation? Where are the artists and works that can be associated with art history? When we talk about ink painting, these unquestionable questions once again become a Hamlet’s query.
Everyone knows the metaphor of the elephant in the room. Whether ignoring it deliberately, or accepting it blindly, there is no fundamental difference. As an art form born and brought up in China, ink painting has been questioned and criticized constantly since the beginning of the last century. Many artists and theorists cudgeled their brains on it, producing all kinds of theories, and based on which, contributing some seemingly valuable and exploratory works. Later, with the reform and opening up, another cycle of samsara has emerged in ink painting, with the basic features of last cycle, but a larger quantity. The scale is evident, which is reflected on, to name a few, numerous large or small ink painting exhibitions, endless so-called academic seminars, countless self-proclaimed market darlings, and various booming associations, schools, and painting academies. These mirages lead to delusions, and delusions can make people exciting and arrogant, even they will not last. In my experience, many clever people in the ink painting circle have sensed the emptiness behind the self-entertainment and self-exaltation. Nevertheless, being lack of confidence or strength, they would rather live in the mirages.
Coming back to the topic of Zhu Wei - the label on him is ink painter. There is something magical about labels, which can subtly shape people's thoughts and behaviors. However, some people are peculiar, who can lie down with dogs but get up without fleas. Here I would rather not use the lofty words “come out of the dirty mud unsoiled”, for, in this field, Zhu Wei is not a supporter of loftiness. He has always been moderate, modest, keeping a low profile, and of a little bit of perfectionist; he put more efforts in painting rather than words. These are virtues, and they come from his long-standing sense of propriety. I remember once he told me, that the key to evaluate something or someone is time. “Three years to five years, eight years to ten years, or fifty years to a hundred years, when the time span is different, the standard is completely different. If the standard is lowered by one inch, there will be a bunch of masters, and if the standard is lowered by one meter, masters will be all over the world.” I couldn't help laughing, “for you, a day lasts more than a year.” Zhu Wei waved without answering. I always have a feeling that there are two different Zhu Weis coexisting inside him – one is an ink painter, and the other is an artist; one is entirely contemporary, and the other has an obsession for classics. The two Zhu Weis sometimes coexist peacefully, and sometimes conflict. I often felt regret that among so many our artists, writers, directors, and musicians, nobody could see the inner conflict, as well as the ultimate realm stimulated by inner conflict. They live as if life is peaceful, which led to the hollowness and flatness of their works. There is no doubt that the passion and motivation of art creation comes mostly from the inner world of an individual, and it is also where the secret of creation lies in.
As I previously mentioned, the field of ink painting is gradually becoming a closed loop, and here it doesn't matter whether it is a fact or an opinion, for in front of creation, all facts and all opinions are hypotheses. It is said that everyone is a product of the environment. I would say that only trees, flowers and plants are the products of the environment, but not human beings, at least not all of them. As for artists, they have the privilege of surpassing the environment: artists have always been flying in parallel with the environment, far more than just a shadow of it. Throughout the history, there were a lot of examples. Even now, the closed loop in the making is still not so closed. As the well-known saying goes, “there is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."** The status quo of ink painting is undoubtedly disappointing, but not hopeless. After all, my opinion was yet an entry-level insight into art. For instance, when Zhu Wei and I discussed about "New Literati Painting", "New Ink Painting", "New Freehand Brushwork", " New Gongbi" and other new trends, in his usual cold and humorous way he said, “there is no easy life. They should be allowed to get some food from their own plots.” Sure, the threshold for art is too low, hence ordinary people dare not pretend to be a scientist or a medical professional, while those who call themselves artists are packed. On the other hand, the standard of art is too high, for becoming an artist, who will not eventually be eliminated by time, is as difficult as a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Zhu Wei has fifty years and one hundred years in his mind, and one step at a time, he put it into practice – and he has outstanding works. So, is he standing in or outside the closed loop?
We have to look for the evidencein Zhu Wei's artworks. As I can recall, Zhu Wei was the first person who consciously introduced ink painting to the door of contemporary art. In other words, when most people were still asleep, he woke up early - and, he was not woken by other, but woke up naturally. People who understand contemporary art know that contemporary art emphasizes concepts over means, where concepts is the core, means (including materials and so forth) is in a subordinate position. The materials of ink painting should not be an obstacle to creation. However, within the closed loop mentioned above, people have adopted an approach of collective unconscious: they made a cocoon around themselves as a cave, a place to avoid the vertical and horizontal comparison, so that they could relieve themselves from the anxiety and pressure when facing such confrontations. Zhu Wei woke up early and naturally, unlike the ones who were woken up by others – as soon as they opened their eyes, and realized that a thousand years outside the cave was as a passing night, they hastily changed their coats and jumped on the bandwagon without thinking. The advantage of waking naturally is that every step of creation, from sowing to harvesting, from flower to fruit, happens by nature, and it all comes from the surging talent and impulse inside.
For years Zhu Wei has created a number of his representative works: “The Story of Beijing”, “New Pictures of the Strikingly Bizarre”, “Sweet Life”, “Descended from the Red Flag”, “The Square”, “China Diary”, “Tightrope”, “China China”, “Diary of the Sleepwalker”, “Utopia”, “Curtain Series”, “Spring Festival” and so on. Even as of today, these works are important and have a significance of guiding. Zhu Wei has created a unique artistic style - according to my old theory, a unique artistic style, a high degree of difficulty, and a perfect level of implementation are the three elements that accomplish an outstanding artist. For quite a long time, Zhu Wei's works have been labelled and categorized, and since he uses ink brush and xuan paper and other local materials, it is logical for people to label or classify them. I have always opposed to a confusing claiming that contemporary art, on the whole, represents the "advanced knowledge production", because in the field of contemporary art, there are obviously different levels of artworks. Yes, it is correct that contemporary art is the frontier of art in our era - with waves of artists charging into the battle, art will always live prosperously. Even so, advancement is not absolute, but relative, and it will wither once isolated. That is to say, advancement is changing, and as Baudelaire said, things roll forward, one half being eternal and the other being movable. The eternal will last, and the movable is constantly replaced.
There is a contemporary person, with contemporary appearance and contemporary vibe, whilst he also has an obsession with the classics – is there a split in this combination? Zhu Wei is very different. He likes to make friends with all kinds of people; he used to be keen on rock and roll, sports, and other music; he is a person who doesn’t resist fun. In the meantime, no matter what he is facing, he is sincere, disciplined, and virtuous, like a really old-fashioned person. I have met a lot of people who are scheming and say one thing while doing another; they are clean on the front and dirty on the backs. Our ancients always said that the writing mirrors the writer, and the painting mirrors the painter, which is convicting, for the saying has proved itself in practice. I appreciate Zhu Wei's obsession with classics. It is obvious that the classics itself has become a thing of the past, and cannot be revived. Then, why do some people cherish the classics? The reason lies in its fascination. When I look at those Western or ancient classical works, words being powerless, the only thing I can do is to take my hat off to them. I still vividly remember the moment I stood in front of “Wind in Pines Among a Myriad of Valleys” and “Travelers among Mountains and Streams”, I felt so overwhelmed that my eyes became warm. Needless to say, the charm of classics is eternal, and the classics are an eternal standard for art. I can understand that there is no split in Zhu Wei; it is the exterior and interior in the same person. His respect for the classics is revealed in his works bit and bit - eventually, the so-called classic obsession implicates a kind of self-competition. Just like a mirror as well, the great classics is on one side, and the artist is on the other side.
Some people change, and some stay the same. Some people change because they follow the trend, and some people stay the same because their inner aspirations are more important than any trend. The truth is, one will never catch up with the trends, as a shadow can never fly ahead of a bird. Those who remain unchanged, those who persist, and those who are obsessed, will one day be followed by the crowds. It is such a wonderful world, with unmovable mountains and flowing water. I expect Zhu Wei to be the same as always - of course, whether I expect it or not, he will be. Not long ago, he told me in a solemn tone, “what else would I do, if I didn’t keep right on to the end of the road?” Certainly, in the twinkling of an eye, Zhu Wei has been halfway along the road – by and by, he found that he had left behind the crowds that labelled him, away from the noise, and being alone. Moreover, there is no road ahead of him. Lu Xun once said that actually the earth had no roads to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made. It seems that these words are raising an interesting question here: if an artist is walking his own way alone in a vast land, is this road considered a road?
October 7, 2020
